Jim - your adventure 30 years ago sounds similar to my one time when I thought to fl bed a ruger M77 I had, with a B&C stock on it. I glass bedded it and had hogged the barrel channel out severely to float it and it looked pretty bad (shot good, though)(rule #1 - if it shoots good, resist the temptation to mess with it). The glass bedding had gone well, tho. So, I had the bright idea to wrap the barrel in 2 layers of electrical tape and then full length bed it. After curing, I would peel off the tape and have a nice, even gap the entire length, free floated.
So, I mixed up some body filler compound (didn't need glass to fill in the channel and I thought it would take paint better) and carefully filled the channel and installed the rifle. I cleaned off most of the ooze out and put it aside to cure.
The next day, I go to remove the stock. Can't get it off. Tried the freezer method - no go. Apparently I created a mechanical lock with the filler and the barrel, or maybe the filler just really bonded to the tape, I don't really know. I would have just left it and shot it some, except I had cleverly removed the magazine box, spring, etc, and the trigger.
I'll never forget my 5 year old son's comment as he watched me carefully place the rifle upside down on a carpeted step and apply some pressure to try and free the barreled action, and snapping the stock at the wrist - "you broke it!"...
Next stop was the garage and some carefully cutting with a cut off wheel on my die grinder, and reinstalling the original wood factory stock.
So, if it shoots good, I'd leave it alone, or in any event, don't ask me to help....
